6 Reasons Why It’s The BEST Time To Pursue Your Acting Career!
Ok so it has been a tumultuous time for our industry with pandemic related shut downs and restrictions— but I STILL think that it is a better time than EVER to start pursuing your acting career. Enjoy my list below (in no particular order) of some of the wonderful elements that our current world has brought to our wild and crazy industry.
Streaming created TONS of new opportunities. There is more work being produced now than EVER before. Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu, Netflix, Disney +– the list of streaming services acquiring and producing new works goes ON and ON. With such a need for content, more projects are being produced more than ever. Sure, they are all not big box office releases with mega budgets— but that is why it is good for YOU. All these projects can’t afford A listers, so they are discovering new talent left and right– making lots of room for you in features and recurring roles on new episodics.- Covid made self-tapes the new norm, opening up new opportunities. Once upon a time, if you couldn’t make the audition, you lost your chance. Now everything starts out via tapes! Traveling? Bring your self-tape equipment! Sore throat today? Tape it tomorrow! Self-tapes allow you more time to perfect your audition, more time to squeeze an audition into your schedule, and EVEN SOMETIMES the ability to participate in projects outside of your local area.
- Equity membership is OPEN. Equity JUST announced that membership is now OPEN to those who have received compensation for theatrical work. New professionals can now join the union and avoid the strict joining guidelines that used to be in place. Check out the Actor’s Equity site to learn more.
- Numerous online resources. You can find information about auditions, casting directors, agencies, self-tapes, voiceovers– YOU NAME IT– just a quick google search away. You can find all sorts of blogs, podcasts and info on career strategy and know-how so you can get your most pressing career related questions answered as they pop into your head.
- Diversity is embraced. Our industry is embracing and celebrating diversity and we are HERE for it! All looks, shapes and sizes are being brought to the table for projects and it is truly exciting! Finally our industry is catching up to what is actually represented in our worlds!
- No need for tons of printed color headshots. I miss opening up that box of pristine pictures but– boy oh boy are we all saving LOTS of money! It’s good to have a handful of hard copies always at the ready— but in our virtual lives these days, emailed files are preferred and used MOST of the time.
It’s a good time to be you. It’s a good time to be here. It’s a good time to show the world your talent! Don’t forget— if you are craving training by top notch Casting Directors— we’ve got you covered. Check out our list of upcoming classes and events HERE!
Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert dealing with online casting especially in regards to New York. If you find yourself wondering how to meet casting directors, Colleen can help. Photo kindly by Danielle MacInnes.
Good blog. Thanks for sharing this.
Quick question, is it safe to assume that for out of town legit agencies may become interested in a client, should then be willing to relocate temporarily or permanently for a sole purpose of being local for auditions?
Hi Lindsay, most offices want you to be in the same locale as them although being a local hire in multiple locations is possible as a working actor today due to self taping etc.
Apologize, but there is a second part to my initial quick question, which is: in comparison to the first part, is it also a high probability that out of town agents are simply searching for the best talent and it’s not a standard or necessary requirement to move from home, New York, New York in order to be local for auditions ? Needless to say that the agent who made become interested in signing a talent, are more than willing to have signed knowingly, that they reside in a different state and may possibly be unable to currently relocate either temporarily or permanently? And is signed I would assume that the agent would prefer to have a response of a talent ability to relocate or not soon after the initial audition provided by the opportunities that our New York family (Actors Connection) Legitimately and thoroughly offers??
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Looking forward to engaging in either a class or an audition this month’s calendar. (April 2024.)
If you are pursuing theater and want NY representation, you would need to live in the tri-state area (NY, NJ and Connecticut) as auditions are a combination of in person and self taping. That’s a question that will come up in interviews: “Are you willing to relocate?” In the busy audition season, you could easily have multiple auditions in a week where you need to be in NYC, and then going back for callbacks etc. For film and TV, chemistry reads will be in person and commercials will vary.